


if i were to say that i am feverish with love for you, would you accept being my cure?

by wartransmission



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: College, M/M, One Shot, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-12
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-13 11:05:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5705308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wartransmission/pseuds/wartransmission
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>“Why do I have to take care of you? We’re not even friends.”</p>
  <p>“Harsh, Tsukki. Did all those years of training together mean nothing? All that blood and sweat offered to help you bloom from your hard shell, all that-”</p>
  <p>“Kuroo-san, let’s not.”<br/></p>
</blockquote>Or, the sick!fic originally meant to be a comedy fic, which didn't actually happen.
            </blockquote>





	if i were to say that i am feverish with love for you, would you accept being my cure?

**Author's Note:**

> So, this fic basically assumes that Kuroo and Tsukishima are in uni together, and are rooming together for the sake of convenience. It's been a few years, which explains the level of comfort between the two that lends itself to not-onesided bantering.
> 
> Hope y'all have fun reading this fic!

“Why do I have to take care of you? We’re not even friends.”

Tetsurou makes a sound like he’s been hit, placing a hand over his chest in a show of physical hurt at the seemingly cutting words. Other hand clutching at the comforter pooled around his waist, he mock-whines, “Harsh, Tsukki. Did all those years of training together mean nothing? All that blood and sweat offered to help you bloom from your hard shell, all that-”

“Kuroo-san, let’s not.”

Tetsurou sighs. “Fine,” he huffs, mildly put out that Tsukki absolutely refuses to play along. He was just joking around, trying to find the silver lining in the stormy clouds up in his dark, feverish sky, and here Tsukki was, denying him the pleasure of some repartee.

Then again, Tsukki _was_ left with the burden of taking care of his sick senior and dorm-mate, so it’s probably a given that he’d be a little snappy with him.

_Still._

He offers, even though he really doesn’t want to, “You could _not_ care for me? I mean, I’m a grown man, I can take care of myse-”

“No,” Tsukki immediately interrupts, honey-brown eyes narrowing their gaze at him. “You’re sick, and as much as I know next to nothing about geriatrics-”

“Hey!”

“-it’s better to have me looking after you instead of having you alone in the dorm, where you can get into stupid accidents.”

“I’m not _old_ ,” he argues, rather fervently and with his nose wrinkled in distaste at the very notion. He’s only 20! That’s not old! Belatedly, he adds, “And I’m not that incompetent!”

Tsukki smirks, and Tetsurou really, _really_ hates how attractive it makes him look. What a smug jerk. (Not that he’s any different, but he’s a smug jerk with good reason. Tsukki is just a smug jerk because he was born that way, probably.)

“Of course not, Kuroo-san,” Tsukki says, the smile on his face sweetly insincere as he wrings the wet towel in his hands over the small half-full basin of water sitting on his bedside table. “Now, lie down.”

Tetsurou smiles innocently back at him. How he can manage it with a raging headache, he honestly has no idea. “No please?”

Tsukki squints at him in annoyance. “It’s a simple order. Do I have to _make_ you lie down?”

“Ooh,” he drawls, grinning when Tsukki rolls his eyes in response, “ _kinky_. I don’t know about you, Tsukki, but consent is kind of important-”

“I will, without hesitation, pour this water over you and your bed if you keep stalling, Kuroo-san,” Tsukki snaps.

He freezes on instinct, a bit startled at the commanding tone coming from someone who doesn’t often give orders, before letting loose a sigh and doing as he’s told. With closed eyes, he wiggles his way down his bed, only stopping once he’s covered up to his chin by his comforter. “Yes, sir,” he grumbles, feeling somewhat embarrassed at being snapped at so seriously by someone younger than him.

He’s kind of childish, huh.

(Not like it’s anything new, though. He’s known that since a long time ago, but he sometimes forgets.)

He keeps quiet even as he feels the wet cloth being set on his forehead, the only sound coming from his mouth being a soft hum of satisfaction as the cool garment soothes the heat practically seeping out of his pores, the warmth in contrast to the cold that’s sinking deeper into his insides. The shivering lessens under the comforting heat of his blanket, and he sighs in satisfaction. It probably won’t take too long for him to fall asleep if he kept his eyes closed, and sleep sounds _heavenly_ as an escape from his irritating headache. Hell, he could fall asleep right this second-

“…sorry.”

-or not.

“What?” he asks, blinking bleary eyes open to look at Tsukki, who’s sitting on the chair by his bed with his gaze lowered to his twined fingers. “Tsukki?”

“Sorry,” Tsukki repeats, nose wrinkling for a split second when the apology leaves his mouth. “You’re sick, and I shouldn’t be so short with you.”

He grins, and Tsukki raises an eyebrow in bemusement. “It’s fine, it’s fine,” he says, slipping a hand out from under the comforter and waving it in dismissal at Tsukki’s words, “you’ve always been kind of snarky, and I’m used to it. I don’t expect you to be angelic with me just because I’m sick.”

Tsukki purses his lips in what could be a pout, and he really should stop doing that if he wants Tetsurou to keep enough of his brain cells working for a proper conversation. He’s too _pretty_ for the expression to even be legal. Tsukki says, “Well, no. But I could be more polite.”

“You’re already polite,” he points out.

Tsukki frowns. “Not enough.”

“You’re just trying to keep me from- I don’t know, overheating my brain? You’re worried, and that’s fine.”

“When did I say I was worried?” Tsukki says, one eyebrow raised in question, as though that could help him deny his concern for Tetsurou’s well-being, which is really impossible considering their current situation.

“Uh, you didn’t have to? I can kind of feel it from how you’re taking care of me,” he says, smiling softly when a hint of pink blooms on Tsukki’s cheeks. “So, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Tsukki mumbles, mouth pursed in a moue and nose wrinkling as he looks away. “Really, _don’t_ mention it.”

He smiles brightly at that, gaining newfound determination to find some way to mention this memorable event sometime in the future. “Sure, sure,” he lies easily, smiling still when Tsukki squints askance at him.

“Right,” Tsukki says, the word coming out bland from his tongue as he reworks his poker face back on. “So.” He pauses, considering, before asking, “Do you need anything else?”

“You,” he mumbles half-jokingly, letting his eyes fall shut as he tucks himself in under his comforter.

All he gets in reply is silence. And silence. Then more silence.

He cautiously opens one eye to gauge Tsukki’s reaction, and-

_Oh._                                                                                                                                                                                     

This is probably the best day of his entire week, notwithstanding the quite unnecessary fever.

Tsukki’s expression is telling of how conflicted he feels; torn between being deeply annoyed with him, or just really embarrassed at the lack of his brain-to-mouth filter due to the headache. His brows are furrowed and his mouth is quivering, unsure whether he should be frowning or frowning _harder_ , and the blush is clear enough on his cheeks that Tetsurou can’t help a little wiggle under the sheets in pleasure (because that’s the better option than giggling like an idiot, which Tsukki would likely take offense to).

If he’d known that getting a fever could bring out the caretaker in Tsukishima Kei, then maybe he’d have gotten himself sick earlier.

…actually, nah. Getting Tsukki to take care of him wouldn’t be enough compensation for the pounding headache, even if being taken care of _was_ kind of nice.

“-could get me a glass of water,” he adds, a late addendum to his first answer, to which Tsukki sighs his relief.

He frowns at that. Should he be insulted that Tsukki is relieved that he wasn’t actually asking for him, or amused that Tsukki was so tense in the first place?

“I’ll be right back,” Tsukki says, disturbing his line of thought; his blank expression (a.k.a. his resting bitch face) is turned up to its highest intensity as he gets out of his chair to head for the open kitchen, which says a lot about the effect of his messing around with him.

“I’m missing you already,” he mock-whimpers after him, the volume of his voice not quite turned up to its usual with the heavy pressure weighing against the sides of his head.  He’s been keeping up a good front so far, but _god_ , what he’d give for the headache to be gone. He could deal with feeling cold and having to wear a comforter all the time, but having invisible weights around his cranium really isn’t worth- well, _anything_. He grumbles under his breath, nose scrunching at the stubborn ache digging into his temples. “ _Ugh_ , I hate this.”

“You would,” Tsukki says, lips quirking up into a small smirk when Tetsurou squints his eyes open to look at him. He sets the glass of water down on his small bedside table, before taking up the seat beside his bed again. “And here I thought idiots didn’t get sick.”

“Okay, could you be a _little_ bit nicer?” he moans, squeezing his eyes shut as he brings both of his hands up to try and soothe at the nagging ache in his head. “I’m sick, y’know. Your bedside manner could use some work.”

“What do you want me to say?” Tsukki asks, one delicate eyebrow raised in question at his complaints. “I’m not a nice person in the first place, Kuroo-san. You shouldn’t expect much from me.”

“Every good thing in the world has its faults,” he agrees with a weak smile, to which Tsukki frowns. He quirks an eyebrow in response. “What?”

Hesitantly, Tsukki asks, “Did you just imply that I’m…a good thing?”

He blinks, before squinting at Tsukki again. “Yes?”

Tsukki frowns harder. Tetsurou doesn’t know how he manages it, what with that small mouth of his- which he has no complaints over, honestly, it’s sort of cute- but he does. “I don’t understand.”

“Tsukki, Tsukki,” he says with an affectionately exasperated sigh, one hand reaching out to pat Tsukki on the knee like an elder would with a child who doesn’t know any better. “You may be mean, but you’re still good in your own way.” He pauses, drinking in the sight of Tsukki staring in bewilderment at him, before adding with a wide smile, “That, and you’re really pretty. It’s kind of a given that you can be a little mean- pretty people tend to attract more unwanted attention.”

Tsukki continues to stare, but with a rising flush of embarrassment in his cheeks. He opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again as if to argue, before pressing his lips together firmly in doubt.

Then, as if he’s finally gotten the answer to a question he’d never asked, he says,

“You’re out of it.”

He blinks, taking his hand back from its place on Tsukki’s knee. “Eh?”

“You’re so sick that you’ve started spouting nonsense,” Tsukki declares. After a sigh and a short moment of him closing his eyes, as though trying to ward off an impending headache, he says, “You can at least sit up on your own, right?”

He blinks at the non sequitur, and asks, “What?”

Tsukki raises an eyebrow, and Tetsurou, in the back of his mind, tallies it as the fourth time that he’s received the same condescending expression in only an hour. “You asked for a glass of water. Unless you’ve come up with a way to drink it while lying down, the recommended position for drinking water is something that’s at least half-upright.”

It takes a moment for the words to process in his head. Still, he has a headache to excuse how slow he’s being, so Tsukki really shouldn’t look at him like he’s being an annoying kid who won’t listen to his baby-sitter. “Ah, right,” he says, a little too lamely for his taste. He sighs, closing his eyes for a moment, quickly considering whether it would have more pros than cons to ask Tsukki for help, before deciding on a sheepish smile and a “help me up?”

Tsukki clicks his tongue, as expected. Unexpectedly, he does as asked; he takes off the cloth from his forehead to set it back into the basin, then slides his hand in the space between Tetsurou’s back and the bed, palm pressed to his shoulder blade as he gently helps him up to a comfortable seated position. “Here,” Tsukki says while trying to hand over the glass of water.

“Hands are kind of shaky, Tsukki,” he says, smiling sheepishly when Tsukki squints doubtfully at him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“This is pathetic, Kuroo-san,” Tsukki says with a scowl, leaning closer anyway as he transfers the glass of water to his other hand so he can make a makeshift cup of his right hand under the glass. “You’re a grown man and you can’t even drink water on your own.”

“Good thing I have you, then,” he says, shooting Tsukki a smile, before drinking the water being offered to him. He takes the water in slow gulps, making sure to not drink too much, before pulling away with a refreshed sigh to let Tsukki know that he’s done. Smiling brightly despite the insistent throbbing in his brain, he says, “Thanks.”

“I don’t need your thanks,” Tsukki grumbles, brows furrowed (as they often are) as he sets the half-full glass back on the bedside table. He watches Tetsurou settling himself back under the covers, patiently waiting for him to be done, before wringing the cloth in the basin again and gently placing it over his overheating forehead. He says, “Just get better soon so I don’t have to take care of you anymore.”

“If only it were that easy,” Tetsurou says with a wistful sigh. “As it is, I’ll probably be sick for at least two more days, even with medicine. I don’t get sick that easily, but when I do, my immune system _really_ hates me.”

Tsukki makes a face, and he really shouldn’t find it adorable.

(He does anyway, because Tsukki is tall and intimidatingly pretty to anyone who doesn’t know him, and laughably adorable to anyone who does, because he’s weirdly polite despite all the meanness he shows.)

“I’ll ask my body to try its best,” he says in assurance, and Tsukki chuckles. The sound is kind of like- an aborted laugh, quiet and soft, like the laugh would have come out fully had Tsukki been less inhibited with expressing his happiness at things.

“Please do,” Tsukki says with a wry smile, before getting to his feet and turning to head out of his room-

that is, until he’s halted when Tetsurou catches his hand on the hem of his shirt.

Tsukki turns back to look at him, and blinks. He gives the hand clutching onto his shirt a weird look, before turning that weird look directly at Tetsurou himself. “What?” he asks.

He blinks back, because he has no idea why his body betrayed him like that. He settles for asking, “Where are you going?”

Tsukki frowns, looking a perfect picture of someone absolutely confused by why his dorm-mate is being unusually clingy. Tetsurou would be more embarrassed about it, were he not occupied with being _in pain_. Tsukki says, slow in a way that makes it sound like he’s talking to a toddler, “To the kitchen. I’m going to bring the pitcher here instead of having to go back and forth for it.”

“…oh,” he says, before letting go of Tsukki’s shirt. _Well, that made sense._ “Right.”

“Thanks,” Tsukki drawls, amusement clear in the tiny smile gracing his lips right as he leaves for the kitchen again.

He takes a moment to stare at Tsukki’s back (it’s a very nice back, to be honest) as he goes, before raising both hands to his face and groaning with his eyes squeezed shut, as though it could block him from the outside world. “ _Damn it,_ ” he moans, using both of his hands to stifle his pathetic whimpering. Why did he have to _do_ that? Not only was he showing weakness by being sick, he was showing weakness by being _clingy_. Why did his body have to betray him like this? And, worst of all, why did it all have to happen in front of _Tsukki_? If it were Kenma, he’d be fine (since Kenma already knew him at his worst), and if it was Bokuto, they’d both just find a way to deal with it- and have fun, somehow- together. Even Yaku would’ve been preferable, because he’d just take care of him while not-so-loudly lecturing him about how he should take care of his own health and to not stay up too late studying.

Tsukki thought he was _funny_. He probably thought that Tetsurou being a whiny baby about being ill was something entertaining- and that would have been fine, had he cared any less about Tsukki, but _that’s the thing_.

He kind of likes the guy, and he’s really not showing off his appeal by being whingy and overly dependent with him.

He’s doomed.

“You really don’t have to take care of me, Tsukki,” he says again when Tsukki steps into his room. Tsukki glares in turn and he smiles weakly, because it’s true, isn’t it? Tsukki is under no obligation to care for him, even if he _is_ his dorm-mate, and sort of his friend. Besides, it’s not like it’s _that_ bad. He could have taken care of himself. Probably.

“I know,” Tsukki says, tone casual as he sets aside the pitcher of water right by the basin holding cool water. “I’m just trying to make you owe me one.”

He blinks, surprised, before laughing when he catches the twitch of Tsukki’s lips hinting at a smile. “Sneaky,” he says, grinning as he turns to get a better look at him without disturbing the wet cloth on his forehead. “And what would I owe you, exactly? Me taking care of you if you ever get sick?”

“I don’t get sick often, unlike some others,” Tsukki says, smiling sweetly in a faked way as he sits back down into his chair. “You could buy me something in exchange.”

He smiles. “Dinner, then,” he suggests, not a hint of amusement in his smile as he regards Tsukki. “It could be a date.”

Tsukki blinks. Then, he smiles, amusement very much clear in his eyes as he says, “If I only wanted you to treat me to food, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of taking care of you.”

“…huh?”

Tsukki rolls his eyes, looking a lot like he’s dealing with an unruly child. “Kuroo-san,” he says, slowly, in a tone that screams “I can’t believe I’m dealing with an idiot”, “if I wanted a date, I know that I could just ask you.” Tsukki gives him a _look_ \- like he’s disappointed that he isn’t getting his point yet. “I have a feeling you wouldn’t say no, after all the times you’ve ‘asked me out’.”

He blinks, eyes wide as he stares at Tsukki. “What?”

Tsukki laughs, and condescension practically _drips_ just from the sound of his voice.

Tetsurou still can’t believe he finds it attractive.

He still can’t believe that he finds _this guy_ attractive.

(He would wonder what he did in his past life to merit such torture, but that would be just setting himself up for a bigger headache. He’d really rather not deal with that.)

“My eyesight isn’t all that good, but I’m not blind,” Tsukki says, amused smile fading into the usual blank face as he leans back into his chair. Tetsurou is seriously starting to wonder if Tsukki can maintain a genuine smile for longer than ten seconds, but it’d take some time to actually accomplish that kind of experiment. That, and he’d have to be really damn funny or entertaining enough that he could earn an actual smile from Tsukki. “You’ve been keeping in touch with me since I was in my first year of high school, and it’s not the first time you’ve asked me out on a ‘date’,” Tsukki adds.

“I,” he begins, too stunned to actually form a coherent sentence, “I didn’t…”

“You didn’t think I’d notice,” Tsukki finishes for him.

Face most likely flushed, he nods, clenching his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering too obviously. And here he’d thought he was being _subtle_. What a joke.

Tsukki shrugs. “I wouldn’t have, actually. I thought that you were joking most of the time. Bokuto-san was very forthcoming, though.” He smiles wryly. “I didn’t even think to ask him anything; he just told me everything on his own. Akaashi-san backed him up, which made me consider it, because I honestly wouldn’t have believed Bokuto-san even if he was being truthful when he’s so… _him_.”

He curses under his breath at the revelation, pressing the heels of his clenched hands to his closed eyes. He says, voice edging into a growl, “I’m gonna _kill_ him. _And_ Akaashi.”

Tsukki smiles, smug and sure of himself now that Tetsurou has indirectly confirmed his suspicions. He says, “It’s not their fault that you’re obvious, Kuroo-san.”

“You wouldn’t have figured out if he didn’t tell you, though,” Tetsurou points out.

Tsukki lifts and drops his right shoulder in a half-shrug, conceding his point. “True. You’re obvious, but you could have just been joking.” He frowns, as though reconsidering the idea. “That would have been more understandable, actually. I don’t get why you’d want to date me.”

Tetsurou blinks and stares at him in bewilderment. Lowering his hands back to his chest, he asks, “Are you serious?”

Tsukki frowns at him, and says, “Yes. I’m two years younger than you, taller, and I’m not very nice. I don’t see the appeal.”

Well, that’s definitely _not_ okay. “Do you just ignore me when I compliment you?” he asks, squinting at Tsukki when he makes a face at him. “Whenever I say that you’ve still got something good in you, and whenever I say that you’re pretty- does all of that just pass over your head?”

Tsukki wrinkles his nose and purses his lips in distaste at the reminder of such compliments. “You can’t seriously mean any of that,” he says, tone hinting at annoyance. He folds his arms over his chest- a subconscious effort at shielding himself from further interrogation, and adds, “I’ve never done anything to warrant those kinds of compliments. And I'm a man- I'm not pretty.”

Oh.

_Oh_   _man._

A smug Tsukki was something generally difficult to deal with, because it would mean him having enough of his guards up that the fall of any one of those guards would lead to him pulling in on himself further. An _insecure_ Tsukki, though…

He smirks, and says, “Then let me take you out on a date, so I can help you understand why I think those things about you.”

Tsukki’s eyes widen in bewilderment at the sudden suggestion. “What?” Blinking, he frowns, and then says, “You want an excuse to butter me up, so you can get what you want.” Clearly implying something in the physical realm of attraction- which Tetsurou can’t deny wanting, because _why_ wouldn’t he want to be with Tsukki in that way? But it’s not the only thing, and he wants that to be made clear to the (surprisingly) oblivious teenager sitting beside him.

The smirk on his face widens into a sly grin, and he chuckles. Tsukki twitches, almost as if he’d just stifled a shudder, and he grins wider. “Exactly. And what I want, is,” he reaches out to place his hand flat on Tsukki’s knee, watching Tsukki as he wrinkles his nose at him in apprehension,

“you. _Not_ just your body. All,” he gestures with the hand he’d reached out with to Tsukki’s entirety, “of you.”

The slow-blooming pink is a full-on red on Tsukki’s cheeks now, reaching up to his ears as he opens and closes his mouth in an unintentional imitation of a goldfish.

He laughs, the sound bright and happy and warm in his stomach as it rumbles within his chest. Taking his hand back to settle it on his chest, he says, “I am _so_ going to sweep you off your feet once I’m done being sick.”

Tsukki swallows, and Tetsurou knows that Tsukki knows he’s watching his throat when he moves to clasp his hands together over his lap- his usual habit when he’s nervous or embarrassed. Still, he manages a challenging smirk, and says, “I doubt you can manage that, Kuroo-san.”

He grins and, belatedly, realizes that his headache has stopped bothering him minutes ago.

_Oh, it’s **on.**_


End file.
